3 surprising players carrying Dodgers during season-opening hot streak

2. Gavin Lux

Though Gavin Lux is currently day-to-day while battling a bout of back tightness, one has to assume that tight back is from unexpectedly carrying the bottom of the lineup.

For years, Lux has been an enigma, an upper-echelon infield prospect who couldn’t crack the infield for long stretches of time and found himself shoehorned to center, where he spent much of his time playing catchup. The production never justified participation, and the athleticism never fully translated. Now 24 years old, 2022 was viewed as a potential last-ditch effort to make Lux a part of the program in LA. They’d held onto him long enough, but might’ve had to sell low if he still failed to break out.

What a difference a few weeks makes.

Through 10 games played, Lux is right up there with Bellinger in terms of creating a powerful contribution out of thin air, bucking low expectations. Lux has nearly cracked a full 1.0 WAR, too, posting an 0.7 mark and a 158 OPS+. He’s scored nine runs and walked a remarkable seven times in just 37 plate appearances overall, wreaking havoc on the base paths. Most bizarrely, he’s played left field in a third of his starts, manning second base in the others and performing like a true utility option rather than a round peg forced into square holes.

When the Dodgers have cut the cord with other top prospects in years past — say, Keibert Ruiz — it’s been because they’ve been blocked in front and were being threatened from behind, with potential stars still in the pipeline. Lux? The path to playing time was there, and was handed to him repeatedly. He just wasn’t seizing it.

Hopefully, April 2022 is the month where everything turned.

1. Tony Gonsolin

In the sixth inning of Wednesday’s game, Dave Roberts became the first manager in MLB history to wish for his own pitcher to have a no-hitter busted up and get it granted.

Such is the luxury of managing a pitching staff like this. The Dodgers aren’t worried about whether or not their pitchers, young and old, will succeed. They’re mostly concerned about whether they’ll put too many dominant innings on their arms and create extra stress.

Gonsolin became the latest moundsman to flirt with a no-no in Wednesday afternoon’s win over the Braves, a way-easier-than-expected contest that landed the eccentric right-hander firmly on MLB’s ERA leaderboard. Yes, he really did finish a 4/20 start with an 0.69 ERA.

A bit misleading? Sure; he’s not missing many bats (eight whiffs in 13 innings) and has a slightly-elevated WHIP of 1.231, proving he’s stranding plenty of runners so far.

But you know what’s not misleading? Since the start of 2019, Gonsolin has a top-three ERA of all MLB starters who meet a 30-start threshold.

Not insignificant.

When the 2022 Dodgers season opened, the back of the rotation looked like a mishmash of four-inning starters and piggyback candidates.

Two times through the order, though, Gonsolin, Heaney, Tyler Anderson and even David Price have all proven to be competent placeholders for Dustin May’s return.

And if May doesn’t make it back full strength, there are more than enough arms to cover the space here.

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